Why Kawhi Leonard's latest injury proves the Spurs were right about him all along

With news that L.A. Clippers star Kawhi Leonard may miss the start of the regular season, many have begun to doubt whether he can consistently stay healthy. Ironically, his former team, the San Antonio Spurs, seemingly had those doubts but were blamed for his exit, with many believing they had mistreated him.

A big part of the disagreement between the Spurs and Leonard was over the diagnosis of his injury, with the team believing that he had a degenerative condition called tendinopathy and appearing to be right. Leonard disagreed, which led to the falling out and demanding a trade. Still, the Spurs have taken the brunt of the blame for the breakup between them and Leonard.

This is despite them being considered to be one of the most well-run franchises in sports and reports of Leonard's behavior. Fortunately for the Spurs, they are finally just now getting out of the hole that his exit caused while it's evident that they were right all along about Leonard. 

Kawhi Leonard's latest injury is vindication for the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs reluctantly traded him to the Toronto Raptors for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a first-round pick that became Keldon Johnson. That was seen as a subpar haul at the time but it was clear that Leonard wasn't going to come back so the Spurs took the best offer they had.

Not only that but they managed to turn those assets from that trade into even more assets. The traded DeRozan after three good seasons in a deal that included Thaddeus Young, and a top-10 protected first from the Chicago Bulls in 2025 (which is also top-8 protected in 2026 and 2027). They also received a 2024 second from the Lakers as well as the Bulls' 2025 second.

The Spurs later flipped Young and a second for a first-round pick and also traded Poeltl for what turned out to be the eighth pick in the 2024 draft before they traded that to Minnesota for a top-one protected 2030 first-round pick swap and unprotected first in 2031. All that is to say that it took a while but the Spurs are beginning to win the Kawhi breakup, even after he won a championship with the Raptors. 

In addition to having the most assets in the NBA, they also have what many expect to be the next face of the league in Victor Wembanyama. He is just 20 years old—12 years younger than Kawhi—and his ceiling as a player appears to be far higher than Leonard's ever was.

With Leonard seemingly constantly dealing with injuries, criticism has shifted toward him, with the Clippers unable to rely on their best player. Worse still, he recently signed a 3-year extension worth $153 million, and it's unclear whether he'll be able to live up to that deal. As for the Spurs, they are an up-and-coming team that has the chance to return to title contention for the first time since Leonard, giving some vindication.